Cyclops on Safari

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published by Penn Cove Literary Arts Award, June 2013

“He peeked out the window again and sneered at the pathetic unicorn horns. Those simple spikes were nothing to the beautiful branching of a moose’s antlers.”

The little boy pressed his nose up against the minivan window, twisting himself up under his seatbelt.  He strained his one eye, trying to peer all the way across the golden field littered with shiny white unicorns, gamboling and playing, their manes rippling in the wind.  Danny was sure that if his parents would just let him roll down the window so he could stick his head out, he’d be able to make out a moose in the forest edge beyond.  Instead, all he could see was stupid unicorns. Continue reading “Cyclops on Safari”

Otters In Space 3

I’m about a month of solid writing away from finishing Otters In Space 3.  And I’m having trouble seeing the point.

So, if you care about reading Otters In Space 3 — and I don’t just mean that you feel like it would be nice if I weren’t depressed — but if you actually care about reading Otters In Space 3, then share and comment on this post. Continue reading “Otters In Space 3”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother's Day Dog
This mother dog is too busy to wish you a happy day, but her puppies want everyone to be happy! Except maybe her. They’re too busy bugging her to notice her.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, we bring you two stories about mothers — one about a cat and one about a dog.  They both undergo journeys — losing control of their lives both to their human masters and to the love they feel for their new little ones. Continue reading “Happy Mother’s Day!”

Magtwilla and the Mouse

Magtwilla and the Mouse
“Warm, soft, and infinitely precious, the three tiny kittens gave meaning to a life that had previously been nothing more than a fight to survive.”

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Allasso, Volume 2: Saudade, April 2012

Heavy with kittens, Magtwilla made a choice.  She’d been a housecat before, and she’d spent time being feral.  Although she disliked the restrictive interference of the clothed primates, she had to admit that their houses with reliable food and warmth would be the better environment for a litter of kittens.  So, Magtwilla selected a nice house and set about the work of charming the clothed primate who lived there.  In mere days, the primate took her in, strapped an offensively pink collar around her throat, and took to calling her Jenny.  Todd was laughably easy to manipulate with a simple purr.  Magtwilla felt she’d done well by her unborn kittens. Continue reading “Magtwilla and the Mouse”

The Best Puppy Ever

by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review, Issue No. 15, May 2014

“None of my friends at the dog park believed me when I told them that my masters had been bringing me to the hospital to have a real doctor check on my puppies.”

The hospital lights flash in my eyes, and a man wearing blue scrubs injects me with a needle.  I can’t feel my body anymore, and all I can see is his blue-clothed back and the nervous faces of my owners, Geoff and Bree, looking down at me.  I can see them holding my paws, reaching to pat my ears, but all the sensations are distant.

Continue reading “The Best Puppy Ever”

Original Story: “High School Dogs”

In a Dogs WorldThus far, Deep Sky Anchor has been a web-zine for reprints. We’ve taken you to the stars, the future, and to the world all around you — but seen through other eyes. Yet, all those paths had been tread before. Now we’re forging a brand new path, leaving fresh footprints.

Our first original story comes from the universe of Mary E. Lowd’s Otters In Space series. Join the young high school cat, Katasha, at a school dance. Imagine what it’s like to be a cat in a world of dogs, surrounded by “High School Dogs.” Continue reading “Original Story: “High School Dogs””

High School Dogs

by Mary E. Lowd

A Deep Sky Anchor Original, March 2016

“…it was a high school dance, and anyone could come to it. Except cats didn’t.”

The dance was over, like most high school dances, around eleven. The music stopped, and amid barks and yips of outrage, the lights came on. Without the blasting music and strobing lights, the crowd dissolved into a mass of individual dogs standing around awkwardly. Katasha’s ears flattened, and she drifted away from the bandstand, suddenly feeling weird as the only cat in the audience. The band playing tonight, Dog-Step, didn’t exactly have a lot of feline fans. Continue reading “High School Dogs”